So my book has a typo (scroll down to the bolded bits for specifics). More specifically, the hardcover version of SPIN OF FATE features—as far as I know—one typo, one minor stylistic change, and one instance where a couple lines were accidentally deleted from a chapter. Due to reasons beyond my control, these changes accidentally made it into the final copy after I approved it... so I was pretty caught off guard when I noticed them.
99% of published books have similar issues. 99% of readers don't notice or care. The more rational part of my mind tells me that a typo is no. big. deal. But the irrational, emotional part of me—the part that pored agonizingly over every single word of the manuscript, overanalyzed every sentence—is devastated.
I want to make it clear that I in no way blame the wonderful people at my publisher who worked painstakingly to bring my book to completion; these things do happen, more often than I first realized. However, having lost some sleep over the changes, I feel I must apologize to those of you who have pre-ordered / plan to buy the hardcover. I am truly, truly sorry. Trust me when I say that I did everything in my power to have these changes fixed (hopefully they will be for the audiobook and ebook versions). The issues are minor enough that you probably won't notice them, but, as you've likely gauged from the melodramatic tone of this post, their existence is the bane of mine.
[Update on May 7th: I am afraid that my version of the ebook from Kindle had the issue; I am not sure why, whether this is a publisher-side thing or a distributor/ebook reader-side thing, but am looking into it and trying to get it fixed. Once it is fixed, the ebooks should update automatically. Luckily the audiobook reads as intended!]
[Update on May 8th: I listened to the audiobook, and whoops—somehow the mistakes slipped in, despite us being under they impression they'd been fixed. This is absolutely not the narrator's fault because he is an absolute delight and did not have control over it. However, the audio team is kindly working to get it fixed so fingers crossed I can revert with better news in a couple weeks. Like with the ebooks, the audiobooks should update automatically once the fixes are implemented.]
So what are these little changes that I'm kicking such a fuss over? You can read about the specifics below.
The first is a minor typo in Aranel's first chapter. I'll let you discover it for yourself.
The second is a stylistic change to Aranel's third chapter (The Necessity of Violence). It has to do with the dialogue / thought tags. The first five people to message me upon spotting it will be mailed SPIN OF FATE character cards for free!
The third change, the deletion, is the one I'm actually most upset over. A couple sentences were accidentally omitted from a pretty pivotal action scene, which confuses the action itself, introduces discontinuity in a latter chapter, and—for super finicky and detailed-obsessed readers such as myself—causes some confusion around the magic system. As many of you know, hard magic systems function on specific rules. Inconsistency around said rules isn't ideal... especially since I'm a debut author who's yet to gain their reader's trust.
I've included the correction for the third change below. If you're viewing this from a desktop, you can scroll down and highlight the blacked out text to read, but please note that it's heavy, HEAVY on spoilers (although I have replaced character names). I strongly suggest not scroll further / highlight until after you've finished reading the book or the particular chapter (it takes place in chapter 27, titled The Four Realms).
.
..
...
..
.
Hardcover text reads:
Nu glimpsed a torana. Beta's body lay just beyond it, surrounded by a blank whiteness.
The Universal Void.
Stumbling, Lambda caught Beta's body. [They] set [it] down with a curse, then dashed into the
Void after Alpha.
How it was supposed to read:
Nu glimpsed a skeletal torana. Beta's body last just beyond it, surrounded by a blank whiteness.
The Universal Void.
With a delirious smile, Alpha stepped through the pillars. [They] picked up Beta's limp body and tossed it through the torana.
"Your daughter will be safest with you," [they] said to Lambda, before bolting off into the whiteness.
Stumbling, Lambda caught Beta's body. [They] set [it] down with a curse, then dashed into the Void after Alpha. Sparing a glance at Beta, Nu followed Lambda just as the universe sealed itself around them.
.
..
.
Well, that's that. If SPIN OF FATE is lucky enough to get a second printing (which I am aware few books do), then the corrections will be implemented. Until then, it is what it is.
(T_T)
Comentários